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2016 German Grand Prix race recap: so-so racing, great questions

We can summarize the 2016 German Grand Prix in one sentence: Mercedes-AMG Petronas driver Lewis Hamilton started second on the grid, passed pole-sitter and teammate Nico Rosberg before the first corner, and dominate to the finish. In fact, Hamilton turned his engine power output down on Lap 3 and still took the checkered flag seven seconds ahead of Red Bull driver Daniel Ricciardo. Ricciardo's teammate Max Verstappen crossed the line another six seconds back. Rosberg fell to fourth at the first corner and couldn't find the pace to reel in the Red Bulls. His questionable pass on Verstappen didn't help when the stewards penalized Rosberg five seconds; the overtake reminded us of Rosberg's move on teammate Hamilton in Austria. That penalty turned into eight seconds when the Mercedes-AMG Petronas stopwatch didn't work in the pits. Ferrari pilots Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen finished fifth and sixth. Those six drivers all started in the top six, too. Behind them, on Lap 28 of the 67-lap race the next four drivers were Valtteri Bottas in the Williams, Nico Hulkenberg in the Force India, and Jenson Button and Fernando Alonso in McLarens. Low fuel and old tires put the kibosh on Alonso's pace just four laps from the finish, allowing Force India's Sergio Perez to pass, rounding out the top ten. The issues up for debate during the four-week break are far more interesting than the weekend's race. As bad as Ferrari's day might have been – and we'll get to that – Rosberg probably took the biggest hit, losing the race before the first corner for the second weekend in a row and falling 19 points behind Hamilton. Rosberg won the first four races of the season, then the teammates tripped over one another in Spain. Hamilton's won six of the seven races since Spain, Rosberg's best result in that time is a second-place in Hungary. Hamilton turned his engine down on Lap 3 (!) because he's used his entire season's allotment of five turbochargers and five MGU-Ks. Those early-season gremlins now have him on edge of grid penalties. Unless Hamilton's momentum cools off in August, however, that reliability danger might be the only dent in his armor. Rosberg, who once led the Championship by 43 points, will surely drown in his thoughts – and maybe schnapps – over the summer break. Whatever the Italian word for "meditation" is, there'll be a lot of it at Ferrari during the F1 summer break.

Ferrari fined 50,000 euros after Kimi Raikkonen runs over mechanic

MANAMA, Bahrain — Ferrari was fined 50,000 euros ($61,385) on Sunday after one of its Formula One mechanics was hit by Kimi Raikkonen's car and suffered a broken leg during a Bahrain Grand Prix pitstop. Raikkonen, who had been in third place, was told to stop immediately and retired in the pitlane while teammate Sebastian Vettel went on to win. At an IndyCar race in Phoenix over the weekend, meanwhile, Alexander Rossi and Sebastien Bourdais both also were penalized when they made contact with their mechanics. Ferrari said the mechanic on the left rear wheel, named only as Francesco, had been taken to hospital with a suspected shin bone and fibula fracture. He was knocked over as the Finn was wrongly given the signal to leave with only three tires replaced and the other still to be removed. "I go when the light is green. I don't see what happens behind and unfortunately he got hurt," said Raikkonen, the 2007 world champion. "My job is to go when the light says so. Hopefully, he's OK." The Finn was left sitting in his car for a while before stepping out while the mechanics focused on their stricken team mate on the floor. Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne wished the mechanic a speedy recovery in his post-race statement. "I am sorry for Kimi who could certainly have finished on the podium," he added. It was the second time Ferrari had been penalized for an unsafe release over the Bahrain Grand Prix weekend. It was fined 5,000 euros after Raikkonen was sent out of the pits with a loose wheel in Friday practice. Race stewards said that in Sunday's incident the car was released "in a manner endangering team personnel and causing injury." Reporting by Alan BaldwinRelated Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: Getty Motorsports Ferrari Racing Vehicles F1 Kimi Raikkonen sebastien bourdais

Listen to the Ferrari 488 GTB for the first time

We've received the initial information, seen it on the floor of the Geneva Motor Show and even played around with the online configurator. The one thing we haven't seen (or heard) just yet is the new Ferrari 488 GTB actually firing up. (Well, that and driving the thing, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.) Fortunately some paparazzi with a video camera have caught the new mid-engined, eight-cylinder Ferrari undergoing testing – still under wraps despite having already been unveiled – in Maranello, entering and exiting the factory. And in case you were worried that the twin turbochargers would muffle the exhaust note, it seems the boys in red have invested some time making sure that wouldn't be an issue. Not only that, but we appear to have here our first glimpse at the convertible version, expected (in accordance with traditional Ferrari nomenclature) to be dubbed the 488 GTS – that S standing for Spider instead of the B for Berlinetta. Expect a similar folding hardtop mechanism to that found on the outgoing 458 Spider. Then again, the last time the GTB handle was used on this line was with the F355, where the GTB was the coupe, GTS was the partial convertible with the removable roof panel, and the full convertible was called the F355 Spider. (The more recent, twelve-cylinder 599 GTB Fiorano only led to the limited-edition 599 SA Aperta, as Ferrari doesn't typically offer twelve-cylinder roadsters in "regular" production.)